Relocation Trends From 2015 and What to Expect in 2016

Yoana Nin

2015 is behind us now, but there are trends we saw develop in the real estate industry, that certainly reflect key focus points for 2016. One of these key areas of conversation is relocation, where people moved within the united states. So who moved? Where did they move to? How much money did they pay to facilitate this moves and what motivated their decision to relocate? What were the general patterns in terms of distances covered?

Why Americans moved in 2015

People moved away from existing homes because they were looking for cheaper options, convenient locations and new environments. There were also those who moved because they wanted better quality housing even if it meant having to pay more. Reports also indicate that some Americans left rentals in the search of locations where they could buy their own homes. Thats one of the more significant trends to focus on now that we’re in 2016.

Some people chose to move in order to start their own households. This includes those who got married and young people who wanted to leave their parents’ homes in the pursuit of independence and privacy.

In other instances, people secured jobs away from their homes and chose to relocate to be closer to their new areas of work. The jobs included new challenges or transfers within the same line of work. Most of the movement in this category involved those taking new jobs altogether.

There were other less common reasons for relocation, and these included the search for new environments or better schools and colleges.

What were the patterns of movement?

The West and Southern areas of the country had more destinations than any other area, with an interesting 3 out of the 5 routes of movement ending in California. Florida and Texas rounded off the remaining available routes.

States to which most people moved

California topped this list, followed by Texas, Washington, North Carolina, with Colorado coming fifth. Others in the top 10 include Oregon, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina and Nevada in that order.

Where did most moves emanate from?

New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania took a huge hit in terms of movements to the outside, with other states in the top 10 being Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Virginia and Ohio.

Who moved within their own states?

Those who relocated within cities and towns in the same states did so out of a need to find better places without having to move too far away from home. Below is a look at the states affected, in descending order:

California

Florida

Texas

New Jersey

New York

Illinois

Michigan

Georgia

Massachusetts

Ohio

Here is a look at the cities individuals moved to, from the ones that received the most people to the ones that took in the least:

Denver

Seattle

Portland, Oregon

Houston

San Francisco

Dallas

Atlanta

Austin

Las Vegas

Los Angeles

And below is a ranking of the cities from which people moved, from the most affected to the least:

New York City

Chicago

Washington, D.C.

Pittsburgh

Milwaukee

Baltimore

Philadelphia

Arlington, Virginia

Minneapolis

Columbus, Ohio

Additional facts

Professionals in teaching, business, health and the military moved the most in 2015.

The average moving costs ranged from $2600 to $4400

June was by far the busiest month of the year in terms of movement.

A huge chunk of people (60.6%) moved out of state.

July 31 was the most packed day of the year, where people moved the most compared to any other date.

Only a paltry 9.6% of those who relocated made use of vehicles.

Most people chose to move either on Friday or Saturday.

Those living in units with one or two bedrooms moved most, some in search of bigger houses and compounds.

Among the areas from which people moved, the Midwest was the most affected as people sought better working places and cheaper residential areas.

While there was plenty of movement in many areas Across the US, the only significant increase in general population resulting from relocation was the south.

The statistics above show a growing pattern when it comes to movement in the population,with people choosing different parts of the country for general reasons like the cost of real estate and standards of living. Other decisions were made based purely on individual preferences among different age groups.